OCR Text |
Show HILLTOP TIMES Hilltop TIME S January 29, 2015 5 The 572nd AMXS uses the 'Art of the Possible' 309th Aircraft Maintenance Group H ILL AIR FORCE BASE — The 309th Aircraft Maintenance Group's C-130 team recently shattered its aircraft delivery performance record by delivering an aircraft in 107 flow days. The 572nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron completed the aircraft Dec. 18 and bested its previous record by 10 days. Officials said it was a critical milestone on the "AFSC Way journey," discovering the "Art of the Possible." According to the Air Force Sustainment Center, "The Art of the Possible" is about reaching beyond today's limitations to grasp previously unimagined heights of performance. It is about challenging each other to recognize opportunities, eliminate constraints, improve processes and optimize resources to achieve world-record results. It isn't about working harder, cutting corners or jeopardizing workplace safety but about expanding our vision of what is truly possible and refusing to settle for marginal improvements." Officials said this definition, taken from the AFSC Way guidebook, provided focus for the C-130 team to craft its 117-day AoP goal and, as a result, the C-130 team built its Production Machine to produce 40 aircraft per year, requiring a "takt" time of nine days. In other words, members need to produce an aircraft every nine days to produce this 40-per-year goal. "Restructuring our operation around AFSC's Leadership Model and Production Machine methods represent two cornerstones to our squadron's success," said David Mann, 572nd AMXS director. The Leadership Model lays out a clear blueprint for leaders at all levels and brings a new focus on people, processes and resources to achieve results never imagined. "This is a tough business, but with our enterprise partners sharing the same goals and with us empowering our workforce, we see achieving 'Art of the Possible' results on every aircraft as our next milestone," Mann said The Production Machine methodology provides a scientific approach to breaking down depot flow into measurable gates with clear amounts of workload established for each gate. The C-130 Production Machine has five gates. These gates encompass the time an aircraft arrives to when the aircraft passes its functional check flight requirements. To remain on a nine-day tempo, the team built these gates around multiples of nine-day periods and aligned all required tasks to fit the timing needed. Officials said the gated process provided the structure necessary to paint r ., _ Frilkna ing the AFS C Ray - to achieve rtuf the'Paible Results! ALEX R. LLOYD/U. S. Air Force Members of the 572nd Maintenance Squadron at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, pose with a sign commemorating their record-breaking performance. The squadron used the Air Force Sustainment Center Way process to reduce the number of "flow days" of depot maintenance from 117 to 107. a clear picture of what may drive any slow-downs. When a bottleneck is discovered, unit personnel focus intently on how to "bust" the constraint by using data-driven analysis and continuous process improvement. "This improvement in velocity does not come at the cost of safety and quality," said Mann. "We embraced the principles in OSHA's Voluntary Protection Program to ensure a safe environment and we use customer-driven feedback to improve the quality of the aircraft. In fact, our safety incident and quality defect rates stand at a 10-year low. This is a testament to the unit's personnel, as well as their professionalism and Robins inspection leads to critical discovery dedication to providing the warfighter combat ready aircraft at a cost-effective price." The squadron will continually work towards achieving "Art of the Possible" results to ensure warfighters have what they need and continue to work tirelessly to remove more days "and downward adjust our AoP goal from 117 to 85 days." AFLCMC commander highlights center progress JERRY SASLAV/U.S. Air Force U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. John Thompson, Air Force Life MISUZU ALLEN/U.S. Air Force Josh Bryant, a machinist with the 573rd Commodities Maintenance Group at Robins AFB, Ga., demonstrates equipment used to drill precise measurements to remove a crack from an F-15 wing spar. By JENNY GORDON Robins Public Affairs R OBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. — There are times when what you can't see can be a lifesaver, especially when it comes to ensuring the safety of F-15 pilots. In November, an extensive crack was discovered during a routine nondestructive inspection of a right F-15 wing spar, the critical component that attaches to the aircraft. An initial ultrasound inspection of the spar included a particularly challenging location to inspect. Something caught the eye, or rather ear, of NDI work leader Helen Mulvaney, who became suspicious of the accuracy of the ultrasound. While a visible crack could be seen once the wing was taken apart, a second inspection method was performed using a bolt hole eddy current probe for a more accurate look. With the bolt hole inspection, the probe is looking for an air gap, or crack. If there's no indication of one, there's no crack. In this case, the crack was about a half inch on each side of the identified hole. "Lo and behold, it was a prettygood-sized crack that went from one side of the hole, across and through it, and out the other side up the web," she said. "It was definitely crucial that we be 100 percent since this was for an aircraft returning to Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada." That particular spar is no longer in service because it couldn't be repaired. Following the direction of engineers from the System Program Office, the 402nd Commodities Maintenance Group was tasked to inspect other C/D model F-15s at Robins. As of December, eight wings had been inspected, and three repaired at Robins. There are more than 100 F-15s in the fleet that are potentially affected, according to Ben Stuart with the 573rd CMXG. Once defects are found, machinists — including Josh Bryant and Levi Wilcox — work diligently to remove cracks. "With cracks being found on the bottom side of the wing, there's a lot of stress put on it," said Bryant. Tools are used to create precise-sized holes in the spar, which is made out of titanium. The process is slow and tedious and performed with extreme care since titanium is tough to drill through. Brig. Gen. Eric Fick, the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center's program executive officer for Fighters and Bombers, paid a visit to Robins in early December for an up-close look at some of the work being done on F-15s. "I appreciate CMXG's diligence in helping identify this issue," he said. "This is a great demonstration of the cooperative efforts between the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center and the Air Force Sustainment Center in developing a way for the field to check for this hard-to-find phenomena. We're working collaboratively to identify the extent of the issue and posture ourselves to meet it head-on." Cycle Management Center commander, delivers the State of the Center address to Hanscom Air Force Base members and industry partners in Bedford, Mass., on Jan. 15. Thompson reviewed the past year's progress, highlighted achievements within the Battle Management and CI and Networks Directorates, and discussed focus areas for 2015. BY JUSTIN OAKES 66th Air Base Group Public Affairs BEDFORD, Mass. — Emphasizing the overarching criticality of the work the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center performs, its commander, Lt. Gen. John Thompson, delivered his initial State of the Center address here Jan. 15. Thompson emphasized the progress made over the course of the year, highlighted AFLCMC and Hanscom successes and presented his focus areas for 2015. Homing in on the significance of the center, the general was quick to point out that AFLCMC personnel make up approximately 4 percent of the Air Force, but help to deliver 100 percent of the service's non-space warfighting capabilities. "We provide all the materiel solutions, except for satellites, that our Airmen need around the world every day," said Thompson. However, the Air Force "counts on our partners in industry to help accomplish this mission." Reflecting on the center's progress, the general noted that AFLCMC is making great strides in the area of strategic resource management. In simple terms, it's the ability to quickly react to incoming and changing workloads. This form of management centers on applying resources — whether it be in the form of personnel, funding or equipment — in a more agile manner. See HIGHLIGHTS I Page 11 |